Experimental investigation on thermal management and performance enhancement of photovoltaic panel cooled by a sustainable shape stabilized phase change material

Photovoltaic (PV) panels are considered an important source of renewable energy as they convert solar energy into electrical energy. However, a main problem with PV panels is that their performance degrades as their temperature rises. To address this issue, passive cooling of the PV panel can be achieved using phase change materials (PCMs). But several issues arise when integrating PCM into PV panels, such as leakage, tilt angle issues, and low thermal conductivity of PCM, which can affect the total thermal management process. This study aims to solve these issues by using a novel sustainable shape stabilized phase change material (SSPCM). In this study, oil ash and RT-42 PCM are utilized to prepare the SSPCM using the vacuum impregnation two-step method. The prepared SSPCM is attached to the rear back of a 5-W PV panel with a load of 18 Ω. The temperature and power are recorded and compared to a standalone uncooled PV panel. Results showed that the novel SSPCM has a latent heat of 71.54 J/g and a high thermal conductivity of 0.7352 W/m·K. Moreover, the SSPCM can uniformly cool the PV by a maximum of 6.1 °C and enhance the efficiency by 9.02 %. From economical point of view, using SSPCM are considered feasible with a payback period calculated to be 1.05 years.